Pouring spout or faucet for containers



Feb, 21, 1950 s. M. ROBERTS POURING SPOUT 0R FAUCET FOR CONTAINERS Filed Dec. 5, 1944 INVENTOR. SEWARD Mi ROBERTS BY ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 21, 1950 POURING SPOUT OR FAUCET FOR CONTAINERS Seward M. Roberts, Chicago, Ill., assignor to American Flange & Manufacturing 00., Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of Illinois Application December 5, 1944, Serial No. 566,728

4 Claims.

This invention relates to pouring spouts or faucets for containers and particularly to such spouts or faucets used with containers known in the trade as barrels, drums or pails.

In the past it has been the custom in equipping containers of the types and sizes here considered with spouts or faucets, to do so in one of two general ways. The first of these, more commonly employed in the lighter containers commonly referred to as pails, was to make a specially formed opening in the container wall in the course of the manufacture of that container and seat in that opening a spout member particularly adapted to be received thereby. Such spout thus became a component part of the completed container and was with it at all times.

This practice called for each pail manufacturer to have special dies for forming the opening and for securing the spout in place, as well as special equipment for forming the spouts themselves. This tended to make them too expensive, or, due to the desire to cut down on the expense, too fragile. Furthermore, such spouts could not be regulated as to the volume of flow and were not designed to shut off that flow quickly. Any fiow at all would depend upon the tilting of the container and the cutting off of the flow would call for a reverse action. In addition, the openings thus formed were varied, were not suited for receiving standard closures and were often equipped with 010- sures which were inadequate to prevent leakage of the container contents.

In larger containers falling into the barrel and drum category, which are almost universally equipped with two openings-one 2" in diameter and the other in diameter-the practice has been to suspend a cheap faucet, susceptible of being screwed into the opening, from the inside of the 2" plug. When the container arrived at its destination the 2 plug would have to be removed, the faucet detached from it and secured in the opening after the removal of the plug. This would work so long as one did not fail to include the faucet on filling the container, and the faucet did not fall off while the container was in transit or become damaged by swinging against the walls of the container on the wire that carried it. At the best such faucets were of cheap construction, and were often unworkable. They would be messy to handle due to immersion in the contents of the container and, before they could be used, would require the removal of both plugs, the replacement of the 2 plug and the screwing of the faucet into the 4" opening. Furthermore, their pouring apertures were quite small while the flow of the material through them was additionally restricted by the inclusion of a cut-off valve. y"

The spout or faucet of the invention overcomes these difiiculties, first by being mounted in an otherwise complete closure plug which is susceptible of being received in a standard screw threaded opening. By employing the 2" opening it is only necessary to remove the 2" plug and replace the same by the faucet carrying plug, or sleeve. A larger pouring orifice can thus be employed than was the case with prior art faucets. The faucets and sleeves of the invention are readily useable with the smaller containers, normally considered as pails, since war time experience has shown the handiest form of such pails to be those which are equippedwith one standard 2" opening.

By supplying the users of containers with the plug-faucet combination in accordance with the invention, the disadvantages of trying to equip each container with its individual faucet hung from the inside of the 2" plug and the annoyance caused by the handling of such faucets would be eliminated. The person receiving the drum or pail would merely need to remove the 2" plug and apply the faucet carrying one he had on hand. In addition, he would have a far superior faucet to those heretofore employed, though a more simple and rugged one. Also he would have a faucet whose pouring orifice is greater than those heretofore employed and one where there is no valve in the stream to constrict the flow. Nevertheless, exactly controlled flow is assured since the faucet need merely be slid inward to open it, pulled outward to shut it off or moved to an intermediate position to limit the volume of flow. It

rugged construction which will last and operate efficiently for along period of time.

It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide a spout or faucet for containers which can be readily applied to standard fittings.

It is another object of the invention to provide such a spout or faucet which is operable within,

and carried by, a member receivable in standard fittings.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a spout or faucet for containers which,

though giving a substantial volume of flow, is

quickly and easily actuated to turn such fiow on or off or regulate it between the extremes of fully open or fully closed positions.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide an effective spout or faucet that will direct the flow from the container to whatever position is desired.

Finally, it is in object of the invention to r vide such a spout or faucet whose construction is objects of the invention, reference should be had;

to the following detailed description takenin connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevation, with afragment shown in section, of the faucet member Oflihfizlil'l-VBH- tion in pouring position and seated in placeina container wall opening.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the faucet memher of the invention seated in place ina-con=h tainer wall opening and shown in closed position.

Fi 3 is an exploded..-perspective viewof; the faucet member ofthe invention and the.,carryis s eev u f min pa to t c m i ation; of; the. invention.

Fi 4 is an elevation taken at right angles to the elevation zshownin Figwl and.; with the/con tamer; Wall shown ;in solid lines.

Fig. 5 isa fragmentary-elevation of-the faucet member shown in the preceding figures with the addition of means to lock it in; closed, position.

Fig. 6 is an elevation of the faucet-member mounted; in a containerwall opening. showing that faucet member as equipped witha modified form, of operating lever and'a modified; form of locking. means.

The reference character. J0 indicates a-portion of; the wall of a container; whichis shownin solid. lines -in Figs. 4 and 6 and inpdot dash linesin Figs-1 and 2. This containen-wall is provided withanopening which, as best shown from thedot; dash lines'in Figs. 1 and 2, is surroundedor borderedby the screwthreaded-bushingll of a typewell known in the trade and which inand of; itself forms nov .part' of the instant invention.

Secured within the bushing I is asleeve membergenerally, indicated by-the reference char-- acter l2 whose appearance is that of ;an or di-- nary-closure plug except that it;has a .bore hole l3 throughit to receivea faucet member -to,be described hereinafter. The members! 2, has; an enlarged head 14 which, merely for the purposes of; illustration,-is :shown as a hexagon butima-yof;.oo urse, have anyirregulan periphery-desired. to facilitate wrenching; Thishead has an upper; face; [5. The sleeve membenl-2 is equippedwith. agaskets l6 andscrew threads: I'I to enablexitto be; properly secured in the bushings-l l in conventiona-l mannerr A spout: or faucet member -generally; indicated, by, the reference character;-; l8;=isshown in 1 re tracted or pouring position inFig. .1, in extended; r shu eofi p n in. .1 2am, n sassemble perspective in Fig. This member has a sub stantially tubular bodyportioniS which extendsas a straight tube for the larger. portion of its length and terminates ina downturned pouringnoz zle; Member l8 may be formed in,3 ny de sired manner though the forming of it by cast ingweitherin iron orfrom zinc is the simplest way of producing it. The rear. end ofthe mem ber may be closed entirely or beformed many, other; way that will facilitate the-attachment thereto of a gasket witha backing washer;-

As illustrated here, such rear end, marked 2i,- is; provided with a cross mernberior wehfiz, which has a tappedvcentre opening 23. This threaded opening 23 is designed to .receive a short stove,

bolt or the like, 24, for the purposeof securing; hee k t 5 a h bac n w herflfiain e an it of member. 8 wh n-the same i 4 in assembled position as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Both 'the gasket member-' ZEw-and the backing member ,26, are of somewhat greater diameter than the outside of the tubular portion I9 so that they abut the bottom end of the sleeve member l2. Thegasket 25 thus prevents leakage between the portion l9 and the bore l3 when member 18 is assembled with member [2 and is in closed position, as; shown in Fig. 2. Additionally, the gasket 25 and the backing ring 26 act as a stop to prevent the member l8 from being withdrawnall the way out of the bore I3.

Just forward of the end 2|, the member 18 is provided with apertures extending through the wall thereof as shown at 21. These may be of any desired shape or number-but, as shown for thepurposes 1 of illustration, arewrectangulan, Apertures, 21, provide the entrance-formaterial; to be poured out of the-container through the spout or faucet member. Due-totheir rectangular formation, they cooperate with theinner; end of the sleeve member 12 to reduce and -fi-- nally sharply cut off theiiow from the spoutor faucet member as the sameis; moved from the position of Fig. 1 into the position of Fig-2 Should itbe desirable, however, to more -gradu ally curtail the flow or control it in-any other; desired manner, the .aperturescould of course. be replaced by some: other suitable geometric, figure.

In order to facilitate the-,-;operationof the; members! 8 it is provided withan pperating leyer, indicated .by the reference character g28 ,-,which is; generally-ofa U shape; Thisis shownrbest Figs. 3 and.4.- This U,-shaped lever 28 has a base; portion- 29 and.identical.- side arms; 3B,; 3 These arms terminate in ends which are rounded into,- a flat face 3L, They are ,pivotedat a -pre-selected point of their extenton pinssz; formedon the sides-of thetubular portion--19- of the spout.

or faucet. The pins, 32, may-be extensions from, a casting, may be welded to the wall of the;por,-; tion l9, or formed insome other-way, Impor tant in the operation of the-device, howevenis, that the distance fromthe centreof-thepivots32; to theflat face ill lesspne halfof-tthewidth of; the arms 30, be the same as the travel-,of-memher i B. in moving from fully open ;or pourin DQ- sition to tightly closedor cutoff position. Furthermore, thedistance fromthe- ;centre;, of-the;. pivot32 to the edge 33. of-thearmsfiil is, such that when the ,edges..33. :come, into .contactwith theouterfacefi of; the member; l2, the spout or; faucet member I8 ,is in fully opened.-;position.,-, This provides a stop action,which. not;only, pre-- vents the spout, from being.,projected-,,-intot the;. container, but i also, gives it: a rigidity when it; is fully vretractedso .thatit can ;be;.rai sed, on, 0r;.- a ainst, w a ev -i is eu ina. 1 12 i o t 8 11 likely to slip out of position. Neuertheless -this stop does not prevent, theturning 0f the spout member; angularly about its; axis,shou.-1d,,it bedesired to directthe flow at any. desired angle Of course, .it would normally. be desirable io have this nowadirectly; downwardly The ;same can beaccomplished .without any, trouble. in this ,construction. In prior devices, where ,the, faucfiils, were screw threaded in place onecould neventell, whatthe angle ofpourwould be when-thafaucet wasfully threaded into ,i-tsseatn v 7 Before passing to the next feature-it i$.-"4Ve11.-. tr0 p n ou at e t t e. ub hrrsntion it in the bore i3 is such that they can slide onturn quite e y with r ec to a h-iothec-bu hout an P a -.1 .T a-i ou h th reto eesk tina;

of the faucet member with respect to the bore, when the faucet is in pouring position, there is no appreciable leakage between 19 and is at such time.

In Fig. 5 a locking arrangement is shown which may or may not be applied to the spout as desired. An apertured shoulder 39 extends out from the portion 29 of the member [8. This shoulder is so located that when the U-shaped member 29 is brought into position to properly shut off the flow from the container, its portion 29 will abut the shoulder 34 and can be locked in that position by means of a padlock shown in dot dash lines at 35. To make this locking means fully effective it should be used in conjunction with a common lead and wire seal to lock the sleeve i2 in place.

A modification of the locking means is shown in Fig. 6 wherein parts common to those previously discussed carry the same reference characters. Here the U-shaped lever member has been modified as shown at 36. The base portion 37 of the U has arms 38 extending downward therefrom to the pivot 39. At this point the lever member departs from the previous construction and extends backward at an angle towards itself at 40 and terminates in an end face 4! for engaging the outer face E5 of the plug sleeve l2. This reversed construction enables the base 3'! of the member 36 spout turned back adjacent the container wall 19 when the spout I8 is in closed position. The faucet can thus be locked in closed position by passing a padlock around the base 3'! and on eyelet 42 secured to the container wall. Such a padlock is shown in dot-dash lines at 43. This modification has the advantage that through it the faucet can be positively locked in place and against removal from the container without placing reliance upon a lead and wire seal for preventing removal of the sleeve 12.

It is believed that changes and modifications could be made in the construction above described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and it is accordingly intended that the description and drawing are to be interpreted merely as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having described our invention, What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In pouring devices for containers, a closure plug, a spout member slideably and rotatably carried by said closure plug and extending through the same, said spout member being closed on its inner end and gasketed against leakage between the same and said plug, openings in said spout member in advance of closed end, said openings being closeable by said plug whereby the flow through said spout member will be cut oil in extended position thereof and as said spout member is moved forward with respect to said plug and will be opened up as said spout member is moved rearward with respect to said plug, a pivoted lever member carried by said spout member intermediate the ends thereof, said lever member, including a locating portion and a handle portion extending from opposite sides of said pivot and means to engage said handle portion to lock the same in place when said locating portion has located said spout member in closed position.

2. In closing and pouring constructions for containers, a plug receivable within a container opening to normally close the same, said plug being formed with a bore hole for the reception of a spout member, a spout member within said bore hole and mounted in a sliding fit with respect to the same, removable means on the inner end of said spout member for closing the end of the same and engaging with the inner end of said plug member to serve as a stop at the end of the slideable movement of the spout in one direction and to gasket said plug and spout against leakage therebetween, actuating means carried by said spout member for engaging the said plug for moving said spout member into closed extended position, said actuating means comprising a pivoted lever carried by said spout member, a face on said lever for engaging said plug to maintain said spout member in closed position, a second face on said lever to engage said plug and maintain said spout member in open retracted position admitting material to be poured into said spout member in advance of the closed rear end thereof.

3. A slideable spout for containers comprising a tubular pouring member and an actuating member, said pouring member including a pouring nozzle on one end thereof, a radially enlarged closing member on the other end thereof and forming an annular shoulder at said end of said tubular pouring member, said pouring member adjacent said shoulder being formed with entrant parts through the body thereof and means to pivotally interengage said pouring member and said actuating member, intermediate the ends of said pouring member, said actuating member extending in one direction from said pivot means to terminate in an engaging shoulder and extending in the other direction from said pivot means to terminate in a laterally extending handle portion.

4. In closing and pouring constructions for containers, the combination of a closure member and a pouring member, said closure member having means for normally closing an opening and being formed with a bore for the slidablc reception of said pouring member, said pouring member being received within said bore and being provided with an annularly enlarged shoulder on the inner end thereof for engagement with the inner side of said closure member to form a complete closure when said pouring member is in extended position, said pouring member being formed with liquid admitting openings therein adjacent the inner end thereof, and actuating means for said pouring member pivotally carried by the same on the outer side of said closure member, said actuating means consisting of a lever formed with a shoulder to engage said closure member on one side of the pivotal position and with an actuating handle on the other side of said pivotal position.

SEWARD M. ROBERTS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 219,079 Dyer Sept. 2, 1879 1,043,018 Long Oct. 29, 1912 1,744,216 Draper Jan. 21, 1930 1,867,279 Price July 12, 1932 1,928,263 Phillips Sept. 26, 1933 1,994,958 Moffett Mar. 19, 1935 2,009,645 Barnes July 30, 1935 2,310,599 Roach Feb. 9, 1943 

